Crate



W. L. HAAS Dec. 13, v1949 CRATE Filed July 28, 1945 DOO I Patented Dec.13, 1949 UNITED ES PLATE NT GFFl-CE CRATE William L. Haas, Buffalo, N.Y.

Application JulyZS; 1945, Serial No. 6073626' (Cl. 21d-53e):

lClaim. l. This invention relates to:r a crate and more particularly toaL crate` forv airfreight, air transportationJ involving theA specialconsiderations ofv protecting edges which arelsubject to injury such-`as-thetrailing edgesof air foils.

Another object is toprovide a; crate which is light in. weight,particularly. in comparison with present methods. ofV wrapping articlesfor air freight, particularly largearticles, such as the air foilsreferred to.

Another object is to providesuch a cratel-whichl reduces thepackingtime, thereby to facilitate both the crating and uncrating of thearticles being shipped.

Another object is to provide such a crate which can be packed in anyposition and at the same time afford adequate protection, thispermitting of the most advantageous use of the limited space within theairplane.

Another object is to provide such a crate which, when loaded, vcanreadily be handled by machinery, thereby to minimize the necessity formanual handling which is particularly disadvantageous with largearticles.

Another object is to provide such a crate in which the materials are lowin cost and readily fabricated and normally are not particularlycritical in time of war.

A further object is to provide such a crate which affords a high degreeof protection and in particular holds the cratedarticle against movementwithin the crate.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following descriptionand drawings in which:

Fig. l is a horizontal section through a crate for an airplane rudderand constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section, taking on line 3-3, Fig. 1.

The particular embodiment of the invention shown is a crate designed fora rudder, although it will be understood that the invention is notlimited to any particular shape of article being shipped; The crate isshown as having: a base` will be understood that, for strength, both thebase panel -and the skids 6 canbe made of plywood, this also being trueof' the other woodenv parts of' the crate. However, the invention is notlimited to the use of plywood.

To the opposite longitudinal side edgesy of the base panel 5 are securedthe lower ends of a plurality of side plates- 8, 8a, etc., these sideplates-being arranged in pairs and each pair extending upwardly to acommon apex so that the crate is generally triangular in section. Whilethese are shown as a plurality of separate panels, it will be understoodthat they could be in the form of a single panel one on each side of theby a triangular llet I0 interposed between the opposingupper endfaces ofthe sideplates.` The width and spacing of the side plates or panels 8,

8a, etc., can be selected to suit the particular piece of merchandisebeing crated. For example the panel 8a is shown as being substantiallywider than the'other panels to afford special protection to the adjacentpart of the crated piece of merchandise. Further, the length of the sideplates or panels 8, 8a, etc., can be designed to suit the shape of thecrated piece of merchandise. Thus, for the airplane rudder for which thecrate illustrated was designed, the side panels are progressively longerfrom the panel 8 to the panel 8d, while the end pair of panels 8e areslightly shorter than the side panels 8d, the apices of the several sidepanels terminating in a curving line as shown.

These apices of the side panels 8, 8a, etc., are shown as being securedtogether by a pair of stringers II, these stringers extending alongopposite sides of the crate against the outer face of each side plate orpanel 8, 8a at the upper end thereof. These stringers can be secured bybolts I 2 which extend through the pair of stringers II, through theupper ends of the side plates or panels 8, 8a, etc., and through thetriangular fillets IG. Each of these stringers can be made in the formof a continuous strip or can be jointed, as indicated at I3 in Fig. 2.

The crate is provided with a small triangular end head I5 and a largetriangular end head It, the small triangular end head being tted andsecured between the base panel and side plates or panels B and the largeend head I6 being tted and secured between the base plate 5 and the sidepanels 8e. For convenience in lifting the crate ropes I8 can be suitablysecured to the end heads I5 and I6. To provide additional strength ametal strap or wood strip 20, or both, can be secured to the approximatecenters of the side pieces or panels 8, 8a, etc. This strap can besecured in any suitable manner as by the fastening rivets 2I.

The crate can be adequately padded with a very small amount of padding.Thus, to provide a cushioned endvvise support for the piece ofmerchandise the end heads I5, I6 can be internally padded withtriangular pieces 22 and 23 of padding material. The side padding can beprovided at the large end of the crate by strips 24, 25 secured to theinner faces of the side pieces or panels 8e and at this end the basepanel 5 can be padded by a strip 26 of padding extending between thelower ends of the pieces Z, 25 of padding. The smaller end of the cratecan be similarly padded by side strips 28, 29 secured to the inner facesof the side pieces or panels 8 and a bottom pad 30 secured to theintermediate part of the bottom panel 5.

With the crate constructed as above described it will be seen that thecrate is structurally rigid, particularly by reason of its triangularshape in cross section and by reason of the apices of the side pieces orpanels being joined by the stringere II while the bottoms of thesepieces are secured to the bottom plate or panel 5. This strength isfurther insured by the triangular end heads I5, i6 and by theintermediate strap 20. While strong the crate is extremely light inweight, particularly as compared with the present packing processes andthe flexibility of the side panels 8, 8a, etc., permits of yieldinglyengaging the sides of the crated article so as to hold it againstdisplacement. The provision of the small amount of padding at theopposite ends of the crate also insures rm engagement with the cratedarticle and such padding can be provided elsewhere as may be founddesirable by virtue of any peculiarity in the shape of the cratedarticle.

It will also be seen that the lled crate can be handled by machinery andcan be stowed in any position thereby to permit the most advantageoususe of the limited space with any cargo plane. The crate is also made ofinexpensive and readily obtained materials.,

I claim as my invention: A'structurally rigid crate, comprising a basepanel of substantial thickness and having longitudinal side edges andgenerally parallel end edges, a plurality of pairs of side panelssecured in spaced relation directly to the opposite side edges of saidbase panel and each pair extending upwardly to provide a commontriangular apex, a pair of stringers extending along the oppositeoutersides of said side panels at the apices thereof, a triangulariillet fitted in the apex of each pair of side panels, fastenersextending directly through the pair of stringers and each pair of sidepanels and each of said triangular llets, and a generally triangular endhead secured on each endv of said base panel and each :fitted within andsecured to the adjacent pair of said side panels.

WILLIAM L. HAAS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 904,694 Hemmick v Nov. 24, 19081,175,898 Co-x Mar. 14, 1916 1,213,032 Smith Jan. 16, 1917 2,147,798Pilcher Feb. 21, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 659,245 FranceJune 26, 1929

